


Ace

by CawCawMotherfuckers



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Asexual Character, Background Relationships, Crushing, Depression, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-08 13:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5498708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CawCawMotherfuckers/pseuds/CawCawMotherfuckers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tune in to follow the misadventures of the asexual Ace, Asahi Azumane, and his quirky Libero who just happens to have a massive crush on the Ace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this headcanon of Asahi being asexual and noticed the lack of ace Asahi (haha) so i decided to give my writing skills a shot by attempting to write a fanfiction.
> 
> Let's see where this is going

It was a sunny afternoon on a weekend, the whole team decided to spent the day together and was currently sitting in a diner, waiting to order.

“How could you not notice it? It's so obvious!”, Tanaka exclaimed.

“It wasn't! How should I have known?”

It has taken Hinata months and seeing them actually kissing to realize that Daichi and Suga were dating and now the rest of the team is groaning how stupid one can be to take this long. Daichi and Suga weren't subtle about their relationship, always throwing each other meaningful looks, holding hands. They even have matching key chains and a selfie of each other as their phone background.

“That just shows how dense you are, pipsqueak.”, Tsukishima commented and promptly earned a chuckle from Yamaguchi and an angry stare from Hinata.

“As if you've noticed right away!” Hinata puffed his cheeks and continued to stare the taller boy down.

“Of course I did. Unlike you I pay attention to what happens around me.”

Before Hinata could give a comeback a waitress came over to take up their order. Her gaze seemed to linger on Asahi more than on any of the other boys, a sweet smile danced around her lips as he ordered and she leaned in a bit more than necessary.  
All this was making Asahi quite uncomfortable so, shifiting in his seat, he lowered his gaze to avoid the waitress gaze. It wasn't the first time someone showed interest in him but still it put him off ease whenever it happened and now that it happened in front of his team the Ace felt even more uncomfortable than usual in his skin.

A relieved sigh left his lips once the waitress left.

 

-

 

“Did you see that?” Tanaka leaned closer to Noya and whispered in his ear while everyone else went back to continue with their chatter.

“See what?”

“Asahi totally checked her out.” A grin spread across Tanakas face. “Can't blame him, tho.”

Noya indeed noticed the downward glance of the Ace. Just thinking about how flushed the others cheeks were as he sent a checking look to the waitress cleavage made the Liberos stomach drop.  
In all the time he'd known Asahi, he has never just once seen the other voicing interest in anyone. No quick checking out girls, no mentions of crushes – anything. Once Noya had asked him what his type were but the other had just shrugged it off with a nervous laugh.

The more it had shocked him as Asahi gave the waitress a smile, though was it a bit wobbly, and had risked a look at her cleavage.

“Everything alright, Noya-san?”

This time it was the Aces voice that interrupted him in his thoughts. Noya snapped out of his train of thoughts and found himself staring at the other. Apparently he must've for a while already because everyone was looking at him with a various degree of worry and confusion.

“Just...spaced out a bit, sorry.”, Noya laughed nervously and finally tore his gaze away from those round, brown eyes that just seemed to hold so much warmth when their gazes met.

It were the very same eyes Noya finds himself falling in love with. When he first met Asahi his eyes were what caught his attention most because they hold such a gentleness and strength in them like he's never seen before.

Asahi wasn't very good at talking with others, so he communicated mostly through his eyes and gestures. If somethings eating him up Noya could tell by just a look into his eyes, the way they are always cast downwards then. The glint of joy lost and full of worry that set his eyebrows in a permanent frown when he thinks no one is looking. He would also make himself smaller than he normally does. Hunching over, shoulders slumped or cramped tight together, arms crossed, holding onto himself as though he would get lost otherwise.

Whenever Noya sees his Ace in such a state he wishes he'd be good enough for Asahi to come to him and talk about his concerns, hold onto him when he needs to.

 

-

 

Soon their orders came and they all started eating, fries were stolen from distracted teammates and light punches were received when those weren't as distracted as one thought.

Particularly Hinata was a victim of many punches even though it seemed like Kageyama didn't need his fries stolen to do so. “Why are you punching me?”, he whined and held onto his side. “Because you're a dumbass.”, came the answer and another jab to his side.

“That's not a reason! And I'm not dumb.”

“It took you months to get that the Captain and Suga are a couple.” This time it was Kageyama who stole fries.

“Well, this time I immediately noticed that Asahi-san likes the waitress!”

Asahi spluttered on his drink and started coughing loudly. “W-wha...?!”

“I saw how you looked at her!”, Hinata exclaimed. “I pay attention to my surroundings.”

Puzzled the Ace looked around, processing what Hinata said and suddenly his heart sank. His breath hitched as he broke into a slight sweat.

Oh no. No no no. They got all wrong! He wasn't looking at her like a pervert. Far from it, he had desperately tried to avoid her flirtations and looked down to avoid gazes that could be interpreted wrongly. But now exactly this action has made everything worse.

“There's nothing wrong with some flirting, Asahi-san.”, Suga started. “Would be about time for you to find someone nice.”

Asahi tensed, his unease forming a lump in his throat and thus making it even harder for him to speak. “Suga, I don't...” He could feel his anxiety rising alarmingly and pressing its weight onto his shoulders.

“Or just someone to blow some steam off.” Daichi laughed an nudged Asahis side playfully.

The Aces face heated up while his hands became ice-cold and sweaty. This was going in the complete wrong direction and his mouth felt too dry to talk, his tongue heavy.

The others continued to make comments and mock him jokingly but it was all just a white noise for him, his distress blocking out everything. So he didn't hear the questions when he suddenly rised to his feet, all trembling. Didn't hear the worries voiced by the waitress from earlier as he walked past her and towards the door to get away from everything. It was just too much to bear for him, all those accusations.

But what caused him the most distress was the look on Nishinoyas face right after Hinata voiced his observation. He'd seen many expressions on Noya before. Happiness, eagerness,concentration, irritation, anger. Yes, even a hint of sadness after a lost match. But never had he seen this mixture of hurt, disappointment and sadness in the others eyes.

His feet came to an halt. He had walked down the road without noticing so until he had reached a park. The silence safe for the sounds of rustling leaves and birds chirping in the trees had a calming effect on him, he felt lesser on the verge of bursting as the moments passed.

Closing his eyes to take in the soothing surroundings even more, Asahi sat down on a bench. It was then as he noticed the sound of footsteps coming closer at an alarming speed as well as a single shout of an him all so familiar voice.

“Asahi-saaan!”


	2. Chapter 2

"Asahi-san!"

Noya waved even though the Ace has already spotted him as they're the only ones around and looked at him with a mixture of confusion and something else he couldn't quite categorize.

Once he reached Asahi, Noya rested his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths to calm down from the running. "Damn. Running with an empty stomach is exhausting.", he gasped between his breaths and send a small grin towards the other. Asahi however only responded with a shaky 'Sorry' before his eyes went downcast again.

Several moments passed in none of them said anything. Be it just from the lack of the right words or else. But it was Noya who eventually broke the heavy silence between them.

"Why did you run away?"

It was blunt, yes, and Nishinoya could slap himself at the way Asahi flinched at his words but he was too full of anger and confusion to be gentle with the giant now. He wanted to know what on earth caused him not only dare flirting with the waitress in front of him and why he runs away right after it. Though he could only demand an answer for the ladder as the first has more to do with his own stupid feelings turning him into a monster full of jealousy than a thing to be mad about in general.

"We should go back...", Asahi mumbled, apparently ignoring Noyas justified question. He rubbed his neck as he always did when he's nervous and still avoids the eye contact Noya desperately tries to find.

"Not before you tell me what's wrong." The libero grit his teeth. Why can't Asahi not tiptoe around everything for once and just talk to him? What is it that keeps him from opening up to others to the point where he drives one mad with frustration?

As expected the other didn't answer again and just stood up, hands balled to shaking fists at his sides. Even though he had his head hung low Noya could see the others face and the tears that threatened to escape his eyes.

Immediately Nishinoyas anger and frustration flew away like the little seed heads of a dandelion in the wind. He's used to seeing Asahi teary eyed. He always was whenever they won a match, he saw a puppy or just witnessed something emotion intense being it in a movie, book or whatever. But never had he seen his ace looking so vulnerable and on the verge of crying - not like this with his eyes all red and puffy, lip swollen from biting too hard in an attempt to hold back the tears. His breath came short and hitched while his whole frame seemed to shake slightly.

"I just… don't w-want to talk about it." Asahis voice was so quiet and hoarse that Noya nearly didn't hear him wouldn't he be standing so close to him that they nearly touched. Have they been this close over all the time or did one of them move closer?

\- - -

 

Just as the first tears broke through two warm hands were there to catch them. Slowly, so very slowly did they stroke across his cheeks, wiping away the tears falling down as though he was fragile and might break. Asahi didn't dare to look at Nishinoya as the stream of tears continued to wet both his face and the others hands but when he eventually did he was met with eyes full of worry looking up at him. He sucked in a deep breath and tried desperately to stop crying. It was bad enough that he was the one who brought the dull veil of hurt over those eyes earlier, causing them to look at him with worry on the same day was just too much. He keeps being a huge restraint for those closest to him.

"Stop thinking, idiot."

Asahi blinked in surprise, staring irritated at the other. Had he been thinking out loud?

"You always think too much and talk too less.", Noya continued with a slight frown, "You always go around worrying and thinking about everything twice as much as everyone combined and get yourself all worked up. But you never talk to anyone about your concerns. That's what your friends are there for, dumbass. That's what I'm there for."

 

\- - -

Again silence. This time however Noya could see it in the way the others brows furrowed and his mouth opened slightly that he was actually thinking about answering. There were just no words coming out of him. That was alright, though. He could wait.

"You...noticed.", came it from Asahi then. Voice all small and cracking from the crying. Noya nodded, both in acknowledgement and encouragement for the other to continue speaking.

"I would just bother everyone with my thoughts... There nothing special. Nothing to take interest in."

Noya stopped to gently stroke across Asahis cheeks in slight shock of his statement. He knew that the other had a habit of making himself small but thinking of himself as a bother was beyond the liberos understanding.

"It is very much something to take interest in! I..." Frustration made itself present again and Nishinoya ruffled himself through the hair as an act of it, though somewhat reluctantly as he had not only to ruin his hair for that action but also let go of touching Asahis face. And touching Asahi is his number one thing to do more often because hell, for being such a giant he had the soft skin of a baby.

"The reason I noticed is because I care about you, Asahi-san. That's also why I'm here now. Too look after you and make sure you're alright."

They shared a meaningful look before Asahi smiled and hugged him. Asahi hugged him! Asahi who never takes the first step when it comes to physical contact and seems to avoid at most of the time. Asahi who made his heard jump higher than Hinata ever could just by looking at him with his gentle eyes. Asahi who was his thought when he fell asleep and when he woke up.

\- - -

He felt overwhelmed and the only way it seemed appropriate to convey this rush of thankfulness was an embrace.

Normally he avoided being this close to anyone. It always made him painfully aware of himself, his height and awkwardness when it comes to such interactions.

But this time it felt right and not awkward at all as he crouched down a bit and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy to pull him close. Even though the smell of Noyas hair gel burned a bit unpleasantly in his nose he enjoyed that moment and forgot all his anxieties.

"Thank you.", he whispered and moved his head so his forehead could rest against the others shoulder. "I would be lost without you."

And he meant it. Nishinoya might not notice how much he does for him but that little ball of sunshine sometimes was the only thing to pull him out of the dark. The way he never lost his faith even in the most strugglesome moments, his smile that seemed to brighten the whole room. It was whenever the libero was with him the storm in his mind calmed for a while.

He didn't know how much time passed as they stood there in the middle of the park in there own private little bubble but they eventually let go of each other, slow and hesitant.

As Nishinoyas stomach grumbled and shortly after his own they both broke the emotionally laden atmosphere and into a fit of laughter an giggles.

"Let's head back to the others. Our food will get cold.", Asahi said and this time he spoke without an indication of his crying prior. Just his eyes were still a bit red but that was easily over looked by his bright smile.

The walk back was quiet but comfortable and Asahi felt free of anxiety and positive to spent the rest of the day with his team. He was thankful that Noya didn't demand an explanation of his behavior as he just couldn't muster how he'd explain that to him. Mostly because he simply didn't want to. Didn't want anyone to know about that one problem in particular.

Of course he would eventually talk about his other struggles when Nishinoya would listen to him. He said he cared about him and that meant he was allowed to talk about his problems, right? That's what friends are there for, right?  
Asahi still felt somewhat conflicted about this new awareness of friendship but looked forward to an opportunity to talk. He's sure it'll help sort out the chaos in his head at least for a fraction.

 

It was the evening when he was lying in his bed and just about to fall asleep when the ease fell and his bad thoughts broke out again with just a simple text message.

from: Nishinoya Yuu  
to: Azumane Asahi

'I thought bout earlier 2day & I guess I figured out what ur breaking ur head w/ thinkin bout! We gotta have 2 talk bout it.  
2morrow after practice??'

He spent the half the night lying awake while his thoughts pulled him deeper in a dark whole and his anxiety ate him up alive. It was somewhat around 4 in the morning when the exhaustion finally pulled him to sleep after all the tears he had were shed and he hurled into the toilet at least 3 times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any mistakes feel free to point them out! I wrote this chapter on my phone in the middle of the night so I might've missed some

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually just a poor excuse to compensate my love for Asahi


End file.
